Shoulder surgery sidelines Woodruff

Posted Saturday, February 27, 2010 by Sand Mountain Reporter

University of Alabama-Huntsville freshman softball player Hannah Woodruff, of Albertville, will spend her first spring with the Chargers as a spectator after undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery Feb. 17.

Paul Woodruff, Hannah’s father and Albertville’s head softball coach, said the injury was to her non-throwing shoulder, which is her left one.

“They described it as a detached labrum, and she had a nick in her bicep tendon,” Woodruff said.

“I guess it will be from four to five months she’ll be out, and she should be good to go for the fall.

“The prognosis looks good. She should recover nicely. The good thing about it is it’s her non-throwing shoulder.”

Woodruff said his daughter believes the injury occurred during a workout.

“They (doctors) think it was something that happened prior to that (in the fall), and that just aggravated it. It kept getting worse and worse and worse,” he said.

“Hannah rehabbed through all of November and all of December and started practice in January to see if she could play through it, and it wasn’t going to work. So, they went ahead and did the surgery.”

Woodruff said one of the most difficult things for his daughter will be sitting out the season, because that’s not something she’s experienced in her career.

“Since the seventh grade, she’s played high school ball, summer ball and fall ball (year round),” he said.

“She did get to play in the fall, so she’ll just miss this season and be back in time for the fall season of this year.”

UAH carried a 5-0 record into this weekend’s action.

The Chargers are ranked No. 1 in the NCAA Division II softball poll and are favored to win the Gulf South Conference East Division and conference tournament titles.